2011 WSOP Re-Cap and Niner Preview

    The 2011 WSOP had 58 scheduled events hosted at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. Eighty-Five nations and 105 countries were represented by the 75,672 total entries.This breaks the previous total entry record that was established with 72,966 from the 2010 series.  The top five countries represented were:

  1. United States-4,604  2. Canada-486  3. United Kingdom-288 4. France-213 5. Germany-156. 

Thus far, with only the main event champion to be decided, 10 countries have been represented as bracelet winners from the 2011 series. These countries are:

USA- 37, Canada- 4, France- 4, UK- 3, Russia- 3, Ukraine- 2, Brazil- 1, Greece- 1, Pakistan- 1, and Sweden- 1. 

    The total prizepool generated for the series, also a new record, came to $191,999,010.00. Forty-six of the fifty-eight tournaments generated a prize pool of over $1million. Even though the $10k Main Event fell 454 entries short of the 2010 total it was still the 3rd largest field ever, and  the 1st place payout has not gone below $8million since the 2005 event that paid the winner $7.5million (Joe Hachem). This year the Champion will graciously accept $8,711,956.00. Not a bad payday for 11 days of work, and that includes an almost 4month vacation after only 8 days or 72 hours of work!

    The 2011 WSOP Main Event  is now down to the final nine players. The November Nine will return to the Rio All Suite Hotel on  November 5th-7th, 2011 to compete for poker’s biggest title and over $8.7 million in prize money.

     The WSOP November Nine originate from seven different countries and they truly represent the world’s very best in live tournament poker.

Name	Number of chips	WSOP Bracelets	WSOP Cashes*	WSOP Earnings*
Martin Staszko	40,175,000	0	4	$22,875
Eoghan O'Dea	33,925,000	0	5	$37,516
Matt Giannetti	24,750,000	0	8	$205,451
Phil Collins	23,875,000	0	8	$48,769
Ben Lamb	20,875,000	1	12	$2,157,249
Badih Bounahra	19,700,000	0	1	$7,582
Pius Heinz	16,425,000	0	1	$83,286
Anton Makiievskyi	13,825,000	0	0	0
Sam Holden	12,375,000	0	0	0

    I will try to get back in and post a preview for Phil Collins soon.       

chapel out......... .GetSome.GIVEBACK.GetHome.

NNP 3

***Matt Giannetti***  is a 26 year old who grew up in Clifton Park, NY. Spent time in Austin Texas and attended  the University of Texas where he studied computer engineering. Matt is, was,well... has been a professional online poker player known as "hazards21", and  is an establisheded and successful high stakes cash game player as well. Matt began his live tournament career in 2006 and came into this years WSOP tournament schedule with 14 previous live tournament cashes, ten of which came from WSOP events. You would think that Matt had to feel pretty confident about his opportunity to grind out another successful tournament cash, but this summer has been a struggle. Little did he know that eight days later, from the beginning of the 2011 WSOP Main Event, he would be sitting in 3rd position at the final table as a  member of the 2011 November Nine and a strong contender with a $24.75 million chip stack. And I'm sure the friends that have some stake in his main event appearance this year are quite pleased with the position he is (they are) now in!

      

  chapel out.......... .GetSome.GIVEBACK.GetHome.

NNP Part 2

   OK, I 've got a few minutes left here and will try to get another quick NNP in the books, or on the pages or on the screen... whatever!?! Next on the list, as mentioned will be:

***Eoghan O'Dea*** pronounced "Owen O'Day"

will rejoin the final table with $33.9 million in chips and in second place. This 26 year old Irishman followed in his dad's footsteps by pursuing and realizing the achievement of making the final table at the WSOP Main Event. Eoghans father, Donnacha, reached the final table in 1983 and again in 1991. This is not the first successful tournament for Eoghan though. He finished 2nd at the 2008 Ladbrokes Poker Million for $260,000 and a 2nd place finish at the 2009 WPT Marrakech Main Event for just over $388,000. He has also had five WSOP cashes ( three this year) putting his career live tournament earnings well over $700k. Eoghan is also an accomplished on-line player (intruder123) with a win in the iPoker Euoropean Championship and a 2nd place finish in the Poker Millions. Not a bad resume for a tenty-six year old, but there is still room for improvement and additions..."You dream to win the WSOP Main Event," he says in a recent interview.  "It's the best in poker and that would be pretty amazing for me to win it. Achieving that dream is a pretty big factor... apart from the money!"..... to be continued, next up, Matt Giannetti.

chapel out.......... .GetSome.GIVEBACK.GetHome.

     

The "November Nine".... circa 2011

    Just a few weeks back 6,865 people decided to come off the hip for $10k... plus travel and lodging expenses... to compete in the largest live tournament event on the planet, the WSOP Main Event! Each of these players having their own attitude, game plan, personality and establshed goals to bring to the table(s). For some it might be... just get me through day one without my nerves causing me to puke on someone! For others it might be... just get me in the money. And for others it might be... please, please please don't show me on tv, my wife thinks I'm at a motivational conference for work! But I can pretty much stake my oldest sons college fund on the notion that ALL of the players want to be announced as a November Niner. (Don't worry, I have 2 daughters!)

    Throughout eight loooong days of grinding it out on the felt  6,856 of these players recieved invitations that were unwelcoming for the most part. These invitations were to request their attendance "on the rail". For some I'm sure it was devastating, especially if it was provided to them before the announcement of "the bubble boy(/girl). For those who made it into the money it may have been just as diffcult, but less painful. And for those who made it further, maybe into day seven or eight it had to be heartbreaking. Knowing you had made it that far and gotten soooo close, only to be rivered by a 4 flush board to cancel out your flopped straight that would send you to the rail to observe the November Nine announcement instead becoming a participant.

    As you now know the November Nine has been established and they are now "on break" for the next four months. These nine men are now home with a healthy chunk of change already added to their bankroll (9th place money was paid out to all the niners at the conclusion of forming the final table). If you watched any of the coverage of the Main Event you have had the opportunity to get to know some of the niners already. You've seen their faces, heard their voices, gotten a tidbit of information from the announcers and may have even googled them to find out more. I'm sure there will be plenty of interviews and information provided from and about each of these players, but for now,and the next few days, I will introduce you to the November Nine circa2011. I will begin with:

***Martin Staszko***  will rejoin the table in November as the chip leader with $40.1 million in chips. Martin is the first player fro the Czech Republic to make the final table at the Main Event and is the second oldest player at 35 years. He has been an online player for several years. Before coming to Vegas for the 2011 WSOP he had only played in four major live events, these being on the EPT circuit. (European Poker Tour). His play at these tournaments provided him with just over $83k. Once he arrived in Vegas though, he wasted no time trying to accumulate as much felt experience in the WSOP by playing in fifteen events on the 2011 WSOP schedule leading up to the Main Event. Apparently that new found experience has paid off quite well for Martin. With his play thus far in the 2011 WSOP he has already surpassed his lifetime total of events played and cash won. Will he be the next  Main Event Champion!?! 

    Next, maybe tomorrow, we will take a look at the young Irishman "Owen"....Eoghan O'Dea that is.

           ........ .GetSome.GIVEBACK.GetHome. .....chapel out 

Poker Etiquette... Does It Really Matter!?!

    Etiquette in Poker is similar to sportsmanship in other venues. Some may even be established as "unwritten rules" that are accepted and for the most part adhered to by all parties involved. Poker etiquette is no different, unless you are new to the tables and you are picking up habits, so-called strategies and outright unacceptable behavior from what some might call poker wannabes. Once you have establisehed yourself as a poker player, not necessarrily a gambler but a.... poker player.... you too will hopefully feel the same way as most poker players do about poker etiquette.

    For me, the most irritating thing to see and have to deal with is.... splashing the pot! "Splashing the pot" is a term used to refer to the action of a player who intentionally, unnecessarily and sloppily thrusting their chips onto the table into the middle of the pot disrupting other players table space and most commonly the established pot on the table.  And my question is... !?!Why!?!   This action generally forces the dealer to have to gather up the chips, re-stack and count them in order to ensure the bet, call or raise is correct. All this does is slow the pace of the game down! Especially if there is an established pot on the table from previous bet collections and the splash disrupts the pot. Splashing the pot can usually be stopped rather quickly if you are playing in an organized event that provides a floor manager. Of course, that means you now have to wait on the floor manager to make it over to your table. Usually before it even gets to that point, if the splasher is provided a warning from the dealer it can be eliminated even quicker... but if you are in a home game or in a tournament that doesn't provide a floor manager it will be up to the players or host to encourage the splasher that this action is unnecessary and unacceptable.

    Unless I am missing out on something here I don't see any advantage or strategic purpose of the splash. Unless of course you just want to irritate the other players and dealer. Note to splasher... splashing does not create or provide others at the table that you are some big shot at the table or in the poker community. If anything it is going to reveal your inexperience and immaturity on the felt. So please, please, please.... the next time you want to be recognized or gain some attention at your table, try check raising an aggressive player with a chipstack that can double you up and let the pace of the game flow, please!   

....................GetSome.GIVEBACK.GetHome..................... chapel out!

Back in the Saddle... AGAIN!

    Wow! It's been almost a year since I last posted anything here at "Gettin'Hammered!" So much has happened over the past year I don't even know where to begin.
   Well, poker related... I finished 3rd in the Victory Poker Pro Challenge. Thanks! to all of you who voted!! Don't remember the total number of votes but we did get into the 6k range I think!?! Not too shabby for a small town poker player from South Carolina! During the competition I had the opportunity to meet many interesting people across the globe and have continued to stay in touch with most of them. As a result of one of those meetings during the competition I joined a Poker Team that is based in Canada. The founder of the team is Jeff Burnett, aka... the AceTenBomber... Jeff is well known in the poker world throughout Canada and has been interviewed on several occasion in several top Poker magazines. Earlier this year I had the opportunity to travel to Canada for 11days to meet Jeff and play in The Montreal Open. The Montreal Open is an annual charity event sponsored by FullTilt and many other companies to help raise money for the Miriam Foundation. This foundation provides help, education, love and support to families with members suffering with autism. We also spent quite a bit of time playing poker at The Playground Poker Club just outside of Montreal. This place was awesome. Tournaments scheduled everyday, cash games running all day from noon-6am, and the food.... the food from "The Rail Bistro and Grill" was fantastic!! Can't wait to get back up there again!!  I've also had the opportunity to meet up with my brother Jason, aka TripJax, and play in some local charity events, cash games and who would miss out on the annual NewYear'sDay Tourney, oh yea, he did this past year (but for a good reason!)  I have been pretty busy either playing in local tournaments, charity events and/or dealing in many cash games as of late! AND, starting July30th I will be hosting some pretty nice  EOS(every other saturday)Tournaments. July30th a 6maxShootOut will get things started. Also have a HeadsUp Bracket, a DeepStack Freezeout and a MainEvent scheduled. All tournament players will be provided with a hot meal and beverage (July30th, Rib-Eyes off the grill!) and there will be cash games available as well!! Want more info about the tourney dates, times and details just shoot me an email at chapelnchill@yahoo.com. I won't even get into the BlackFriday mess with on-line poker! Got alot to do today to get ready for a tournament later so I will end it here for now. Hope to be able to get back in here before this time next year. Got a lot of cool stuff to talk about, just need more time to get it going! GetSome.GIVEBACK.GetHome..................chapelout!